Commissioner David Stern scores as New Orleans Hornets reach new lease deal with state

When NBA Commissioner David Stern and his generals drive their lane, the one with which they’re most familiar, they score. Not just score. They dunk, with hops and ferocity that would make Blake Griffin envious.

Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune While many have been critical of the way Commissioner David Stern has handled the day-to-day operations of the league-owned Hornets, there has never been any doubt about Stern's commitment to keeping the team in New Orleans for the long haul.

And with an assist from the state, they did just that Friday, when the Hornets and the state announced an agreement in principle to extend the team’s lease through 2024.

There never has been much doubt about Stern’s ability to help engineer lease agreements, broker sales (the Hornets’ sale is pending), or extend carrots like All-Star Games in order to sweeten the pot when the pot needs sweetening.

Yes, we can doubt the depth of knowledge he and his enforcers have with regard to trades, player evaluation and basketball operations. At best, their work in that area — as de facto general managers of the league-owned Hornets — has been a mess. They’ll need quite a few things to fall into place in order to clean it up.

And we can question the wisdom of league ownership of a franchise. Virtually every move looks fishy, saddled by conflict-of-interest accusations. If the Hornets wind up with the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, the top-of-the-lungs yelling that the lottery was rigged will be heard from one end of the country to the other.

But don’t question the business acumen Stern has shown in the former arena. And don’t believe he simply didn’t want to hurt New Orleans’ feelings by mentioning a possible relocation or contraction, or that he hasn’t taken personal the team’s welfare in New Orleans.

If he didn’t want the team here or didn’t care about it remaining in New Orleans, he had an easy out after Hurricane Katrina, when Oklahoma City eagerly welcomed the relocated Hornets and proved, in two boisterous and revenue-producing seasons, that it was ready for its own NBA franchise.

He simply could have allowed the team to remain there — then-owner George Shinn wanted that option — and Stern would’ve been supported by the theory that it simply wasn’t economically feasible for the team to survive in decimated New Orleans. Few outside of New Orleans would have vehemently objected.

But Stern vowed to do everything possible to keep the Hornets in New Orleans, from pursuing a no-exit lease agreement to finding a buyer dedicated to keeping the franchise in place. And he never did anything to exhibit a change of heart.

“The league has been committed to finding a way to keep the Hornets in New Orleans,” said Hornets chairman Jac Sperling, who was sent by Stern to help with the team’s financial turnaround, lease agreement and ownership pursuit.

“It’s a day our fans have been asking for for years,” team president Hugh Weber said.

Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune The NBA All-Star Game was played in 2008, and with a new lease agreement for the Hornets now in place, there's an improved likelihood more will follow.

Now, they can stop asking. One major concern has been removed from the docket.

Yes, there’s a not-so-insignificant catch: The extension, which becomes effective July 1, is contingent on the sale of the franchise to a new ownership group and approval by the league; the state legislature’s approval of the Quality Jobs Tax Credit Extension; and the approval of state capital outlay appropriation of improvement funding.

If those conditions aren’t met, the current lease will remain in effect, including termination options and inducement payment eligibility.

“We have a high level of confidence that those conditions will be satisfied,” Sperling said.

It’s reasonable to agree with him.

We have to assume that the front-running ownership group, and any other group that has been vetted and seriously is being considered as a buyer, was provided details of the extension as it was worked out, including the parts that eliminate the team’s need to attain certain benchmarks and the state’s subsidies of the franchise, and puts the onus on the franchise to create revenue.

It seems safe to believe that potential ownership groups have been told, and have been listening, as Stern has taken every opportunity to say that the buyer would have to consent to keeping the franchise in New Orleans, and that a long-term lease with no exit clause would be his to inherit.

In short, the commissioner, the Hornets’ execs who worked on the league’s behalf and the negotiation team from the state combined to do exactly what Stern hoped would be done.

That lane, the NBA office knows and drives well.

There, it scores.

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John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.